Screen printing and drying machine

ABSTRACT

A screen printing and drying machine of turret construction in which a central stand has a plurality of supports for printing, drying and cooling in successive steps on a garment or other panel. The printed object is supported on a glass plate made of tempered heat resisting glass and the support is rotated to be beneath a heater to dry the printed garment. The support is then rotated to bring the garment under a first cooling position and then further rotated to bring it under a second cooling position wherein air is blown over the garment to cool it. As the supports are rotated to their several positions a new garment is printed on the support underlying the screen printer at each step.

United States Patent 11 1 Martin 111 3,854,398 Dec. 17, 1974 1 SCREENPRINTING AND DRYING MACHINE [76] Inventor: Michael s. Martin, 1219 FayCir,

- Sacramento, Calif. 95831 [22] Filed: Nov. 3, 1972 [21] Appl. No.:303,359

[52] U.S. Cl 101/41, 101/126, 101/407 BP [56] References Cited UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 2,034,003 3/1936 Shurley 101/126 UX 2,461,281 2/1949Jackson et a]. 101/114 UX 2,484,671 10/1949 Bauman l0l/115 3,112,69212/1963 Cookson l0l/38 R 3,379,526 4/1968 Limb'erger et al. 101/467 X3,427,964

2/1969 Vasilantone l0l/l26 X 3,514,597 5/1970 Haes et al. 101/467 xPrimary Examiner-Robert E. Pulfrey Assistant Examiner-R. E. SuterAttorney, Agent, or Firm-Blair & Brown [57] ABSTRACT A screen printingand drying machine of turret construction in which a central stand has aplurality of supports for printing, drying and cooling in successivesteps on a garment or other panel, The printed object is supported on aglass plate made of tempered heat resisting glass and the support isrotated to be beneath a heater to dry the printed garment. The supportis then rotated to bring the garment under a first cooling position andthen further rotated to bring it under a second cooling position whereinair is blown overthe garment to cool it. As the supports are rotated totheir several positions a new garment is printed on the supportunderlying the screen' printer at each step.

1 Claim, 20 Drawing Figures 1. 1 an 9 (9y zi M PATENTEL $531 7 SHEET 5OF 8 PATENTEL SEE} 71974 mama SCREEN PRINTING AND DRYING MACHINEBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present inventionrelates to a turret top printer in which continuous printing, heating todry and cooling of the printed material is conducted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The continuous printer has a central supportwith four turret supports mounted for revolving horizontally Otherobjects and advantages will become apparent in the followingspecification-when considered in the light of the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevation of theinvention; FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view, taken along the line2-2 of FIG. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view, taken along the line3-3 of FIG. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view, taken along the line4-4 of FIG. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows; I

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view, taken along the line5-5 of FIG. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view, taken along the line6-6 of FIG. 1', looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view, taken alongthe line 7-7 of FIG. 6, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 8 is a horizontal sectional view, taken along the line 8-8 of FIG.1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view, taken alongthe line 9-9 of FIG. 8, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged vertical sectional detail view of one of thesupport mounts;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view, takenalongthe line 11-11 of FIG. 8, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 12 is.a horizontal sectional view, taken along the line 12-12 ofFIG. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows; I I

FIG. 13 is a horizontal sectional view, taken along the line 13-13 ofFIG. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 14 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view, taken alongthe line 14-14 of FIG. 13, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 15 is a vertical sectional view. taken along the line 15-15 of FIG.12. looking in the direction of the arrows; I

FIG. 16 is an enlarged detailed view of one of the printing screensupports;

FIG. 17 is a vertical sectional view, taken along the line 17-17 of FIG.16, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 18 is a detailed elevational view shown partially broken away andin section for convenience of illustration of the heating station;

FIG. 19 is a top plan view of one of the support plates shown partiallybroken away and in section for convenience of illustration; and

FIG. 20 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through one of the pivotclamps supporting the printing screen.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings indetaiL Wherein like reference characters indicate like parts throughoutthe several figures, the reference numeral indicates generally a turrettype silk screen printer and drying maangle members 36,37 are arrangedinparallel relation and have their opposite ends connected to the feet31, 34 respectively for reason to be assigned.

A sleeve collar 38 is mounted on the tubular post for verticaladjustment thereon and is secured in adjusted position by a set-screw 39FIG. 15. An annular flange 40 is secured to the collar 38 by welding orthe like and extends radially outwardly from the post 35 beyond thecollar 38. A plate 41 is mounted for rotation on the post 35 and has adepending circular cup 42 rigidly secured thereto. A roller bearing 43rests on the flange 40 with the plate 41 supported thereon and with thecircular cup 42 encompassing the bearing 43. The bearing 43 permits theplate 41 to rotate freely on the post 35.

A sleeve 44 encompasses the post 35 and is secured to the plate 41extending upwardly therefrom. A plural.-

ity of tubular elbows 45, 46, 47, and 48 have their inner lower endswelded to the sleeve 44 and to the plate 41 as can be clearly seen inFIGS. land 6.-

A horizontal bracket 49 is secured to the post. 35 spaced above andadjacentthe feet 33, 34. A push rod 50 is mounted for vertical slidingmovement in the bracket 49 and in the flange 40 as can be seen inFIG. 1. The push rod 50 is adapted to engage in a selected one of aplurality of bores 51 in the plate 41 to lock the plate 41 againstrotation with respect to the post 35. A

rod 50 on opposite sides of the bracket 49 to maintain the push rod 50in balanced vertical position with repair of spaced parallel ears 60secured to the foot 34 spaced outwardly from the post 35. The link 57 ismounted between the ears 60 and is pivotally secured thereto by a pivotbolt 61. The lower end of the push rod 50 is secured to the offset ends58 of the link 57 by means of a pivot pin. A foot lever 63'is positionedbetween a pair of spaced parallel ears 64 mounted on the angle member36. A pivot bolt 65 extends through the foot lever 63 and the ears 64 topivotally secure the foot lever 63 thereto. The inner end of the footlever 63 is pivotally secured to the off-set end 59 of the link 57. Afoot' pedal plate 66 is secured to the outer end of the foot pedal lever63 to receive the foot of the operator. Downward pressure on the footpedal plate 66 causes the end 59 of the link 57 to move upwardly so asto move the end 58 thereof downwardly and to lower the push rod 50disengaging its upper end from the bores 51 in the plate 41. The plate41 and the arms 45, 46, 47 and 48 are then free to rotate on the bearing43 about the post 35.

A pair of spaced parallel foot levers 67, 68 are positioned on oppositesides of a pair of ears 69 mounted in spaced parallel relation on theangle member 36 FIG. 2. The foot levers 67, 68 are connected by a pedalplate 70 rigidly secured to the outer end thereof. An electric footswitch 71 is mounted on the pedal plate 70 and an electric cable 72extends therefrom to the hollow post 35 and extends upwardly therefromto a position to be described.

A hydraulic pump 73 has a plunger 74 extending out-' wardly therefromFIG. 5. The pump 73 is secured to a frame member 75 supported at itsinner end on the post 35 and at its outer end on a post 76 extendingupwardly from the foot 31. A bell crank 77 is mounted by a pivot bolt 78to ears 79 extending downwardly from the frame member 75. A connectingrod 80 has its lower end connected to the inner end of thefoot pedallever 67 and its upper end connected to the bell crank 77 so that as thefoot pedal plate 70 is pressed downwardly the connecting rod 80 is movedupwardly to pivot the bell crank 77 to depress the plunger 74 to thuspump hydraulic fluid therefrom for reasons to be assigned. A coil spring81 has its upper end secured to the bell crank 77 and its lower endconnected toan ear 82 on the foot 31. The spring 81 normally returns thebell crank and the linkage connected thereto to a position of rest. Ahydraulic hose 83 extends from the pump 73 to the hollow post 35 andextends upwardly therein for reasons to be assigned. Generallyrectangular bars 84, 85, 86 and 87 are arranged horizontal and havetheir inner ends respectively secured to the elbows 45, 46, 47 and 48.The bars 84, 85, 86 and 87 are arranged on radiuses of the post 35.

A table 88 isprovided with an elongate generally rectangular socket 89extending across the base thereof and adapted to telescope over aselected one of the bars 84, 85, 86 and 87 FIG. 8. The plates 88 areeach identical. A lock pin 90 is mounted in a box 91 on the side of therectangular socket 89 and is spring biased inwardly by a coil spring 92to engage in a bore 93 in the bar 85 to lock the rectangular socket 89and table 88 thereon. A plurality of coil springs 94 are mounted on thetable 88 at the corners thereof supporting a frame generally indicatedat 95 carrying a tempered glass plate 96 thereon. A plurality of bolts97 extend 4 downwardly through the frame 95, the spring 94 and through acorner of the plate 88 where it is secured with a cap nut 98. The bolt97 secures the frame to the plate 88. I

A generally horizontal channel beam 99 is secured at its inner end tothe post 35 and extends outwardly therefrom generally overlying theelbow 46 FIG. 8. A horizontally off-set generally horizontal beam 100has its inner end secured to the post 35 and is arranged with its majorportion extending parallel to the beam 99 and on the same horizontalplane therewith. A downwardly and outwardly sloping brace beam 101 issecured at its upper end to the post 35 adjacent the upper end thereofand is connected at its lower end to the outer end of the beam 100. Adownwardly and outwardly sloping brace beam 102 extends from the upperportion of the post 35 to the outer end of the beam 99 and is rigidlysecured thereto. A generally horizontal beam 103 is secured to the beams99, 100 extending perpendicularly thereto in a generally horizontalplane.

A generally horizontal beam 104 has its inner end secured to the post 35in the same plane with the beams 99, 100 FIG. 12. A downwardly andoutwardly sloping brace beam 105 is secured between the upper endportion of the post 35 and the outer end of the beam 104. A generallyhorizontal beam 106 is secured at its inner end to the post 35 andextends outwardly therefrom in a plane above the beams 99, 100 and 104.A brace beam 107 extends between the upper end portion of the post 35 tothe outer end portion of the beam 106 and is rigidly secured thereto. Ahorizontal frame member 108 extends between the beams 99, 104 and asecond frame member 109 also extends between the beams 99, 104 with thecentral portion thereof generally parallel to the frame member 108. Ablower 110 is mounted on the frame members 108, 109 for bottom dischargeof air under pressure. The blower 110 has an electric drive motor 111and a belt drive 112.

A housing 113 lies in a generally horizontal plane and is secured to theunderside of the beams 99, 100 and 104 FIG. 14. The housing 1 13 is openat 114 to receive air from the blower 1 10 and also has a pair ofgenerally rectangular perforate areas 115, 116 arranged 90 apart.

A pair of channel spacers 117, 118 are secured to the beam 103 independing relation thereto and each has a shaft hanger 119 mountedthereon FIG. 16. A shaft 120 extending parallel to the beam 103 iscarried by the shaft hanger 1 19 and is securedthereto so as to preventrotation of the shaft 120. A pair of blocks 121 are mounted on the shaft120 for rotation thereabout. The

blocks 121 frictionally grip the shaft 120 so that the rotation of theblocks 121 about the shaft 120 is selectively restrained. A support bar122 extends horizontally from each of the blocks 121 and has the lowerjaw 123 of a clamp generally indicated at 124 secured thereto. An upperjaw 125 of the clamp 124 is secured to the jaw 123 by a pivot pin 126. Abolt 127 connects the jaws 123, 125 and a thumb nut 128 mounted on thebolt 127 is adapted to draw the jaws 123, 125 together to clamp aconventional screen printing member 129 therebetween. The printingmember 129 when in use may swing on the blocks 121 from a positionillustrated in full lines in FIG. 16 to a position illustrated in dottedlines in FIG. 16.

A pair of spaced parallel generally horizontal angle iron frame members130 are secured to the beam 106 and extend outwardly therefrom FIG. 18.A pair of spring mounts 131 are secured to each of the frame members 130at the corners of a rectangle and support an electric heating plate 132therebelow in a generally horizontal form. The heating plate 132 isarranged to overlie the frame 95 and is vertically moveable to aposition in contact therewith and into a position spaced verticallytherefrom. A hydraulic ram 133 is secured to the beam 106 and has athreaded turnbuckle 134 secured to the piston rod thereof at one end andto the plate 132 at the opposite end. The turnbuckle 134 permitsadjustment between the ram 133 and the plate 132. The hydraulic hose 83extending from the pump 73 is connected at its upper end to the ram 133.An electric timer 135 is mounted on one of the frame members 130 forreasons to be assigned. An electric control including a thermostat 136is mounted on the plate 132 for reasons to be assigned. Electric controlswitches 137 are secured to the brace beam 107 and an electric cable 138connects a switch 139 to the electric motor 111.. A power cable 140extends to an electric outlet 141 toprovide power for the machine 30.The

electric cable 72 extending from the switch 71 is connected to thetim'er135 to provide power for same.

In the use and operation of the invention a garment generally indicatedat 137 in FIG. 19 is mounted on the frame 95 and plate 96 preparatory toprinting. The silk screen printing member 129 is then moved downwardlyinto contact with the garment 137 to print thereon. The silk screenprinting member 129 is then moved upwardly out of the way and a carriersheet indicated generally at 138 is used to manually cover the garment137. The carrier sheet is of flexible material and may be either tefloncloth, aluminum foil, or treated paper such as silicone treated paper,release paper, or parchment paper. The foot pedal 66 is then actuated torelease the plate 41 and the assembly carrying the supports 88 isrotated 90 to bring the garment 137 to a position beneath the heatingplate 132. The foot pedal 66 is released so as to lock the plate 41 inits new position and the foot pedal 70 is actuated to force the heatingplate 132 downwardly into contact with the carrier sheet 138. The switch71 is actuated by the foot to begin the timer 135 so as to apply heatfrom the heating plate 132 as controlled by the thermostat 136 the desired length of time. Upon expiration of the time on the timer 135 andthe sounding of an indicator bell the operator releases the foot pedal70 thus permitting the spring 131 to raise the heating plate 132 out ofcontact with the carrier sheet 138.

During the period that the garment 137 was being dried by the heatingplate 132 a second garment 137 was positioned beneath the silk screenprinting member 129 and the second garment was printed and covered witha carrier sheet 138 as in the first instance. The foot pedal 66 isagain-actuated to release the plate 41 and permit the assembly ofsupport plates 88 to be rotated another 90. With the parts in thisposition a new garment 137 is printedby the printing member 129 thesecond garment 137 is dried by the heating plate 132 and the firstgarment 137 is positioned beneath the perforate area 115 of the housing113 where air from the blower 110 is blown thereover to cool the garment137. The fourth step is carried on in exactly the same manner as thethird step with the first garment 137 moved to underlie the perforatearea 116 of the housing 113 where the cooling is continued until theprinting is completed on the garment at the silkscreen printing memberposition. After the completion of the printing of the fourth garment 137the first garment 137 is removed from the machine 30 at the perforatearea 116 of the housing 113. The supports 88 are again rotated and theaction is continuous with a garment 137 being added and removed uponeach rotation.

It should be noted that the silk screen printing member 129 may beeasily removed and replaced to change the indicia being printed.

The printing material used in the silk screen printing member 129 is aplastisol textile paint of the type which requires heat drying and isnormally done in an oven in prior art methods.

Having thus described the preferred embodiment of the invention itshould be understood that numerous structural modifications andadaptations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

What is claimed is:

l. A turret type silk screen printing, drying and cooling machine forprinting on articles such as garments, comprising a center post, aplurality of article support heads positioned in circumferentiallyequi-spaced relation about said center post, printing means on said postfor printing against said support heads, means mounting said heads onsaid post for rotation thereabout, means for locking said last namedmeans in a plurality of adjusted positions spaced 90 apart, means onsaid post providing heating means positioned at right angles 'from saidprinting means for heat drying an article positioned thereunder, aircooling means positioned at right angles from saidheating means forcooling an article positioned therebeneath, .means provided forpermitting movement of said printing means from a-position in contactwith saidarticle to a position spaced above said article, means on saidmachine operatively connected to said heating meansfor selectivelymoving said heating means into contact with said article and forselectively moving said heating means out of contact with said article,said support heads for said article including a heat resistant springmounted tempered plate positioned ingenerally horizontal position, saidplate being made of tempered glass so as to provide a smoothnon-sticking surface, and a blower secured to said machine andoperatively connected to said cooling means for supplying cooling air tosaid cooling means immediately after the article is printed thereon. v

1. A turret type silk screen printing, drying and cooling machine forprinting on articles such as garments, comprising a center post, aplurality of article support heads positioned in circumferentiallyequi-spaced relation about said center post, printing means on said postfor printing against said support heads, means mounting said heads onsaid post for rotation thereabout, means for locking said last namedmeans in a plurality of adjusted positions spaced 90* apart, means onsaid post providing heating means positioned at right angles from saidprinting means for heat drying an article positioned thereunder, aircooling means positioned at right angles from said heating means forcooling an article positioned therebeneath, means provided forpermitting movement of said printing means from a position in contactwith said article to a position spaced above said article, means on saidmachine operatively connected to said heating means for selectivelymoving said heating means into contact with said article and forselectively moving said heating means out of contact with said article,said suppoRt heads for said article including a heat resistant springmounted tempered plate positioned in generally horizontal position, saidplate being made of tempered glass so as to provide a smooth nonstickingsurface, and a blower secured to said machine and operatively connectedto said cooling means for supplying cooling air to said cooling meansimmediately after the article is printed thereon.